BİR YÜZÜĞÜN ÖYKÜSÜ: ZİHGİR
THE STORY OF A RING: ZİHGİR

Summary/Abstract: The archery that is an ancestor art for the Turks continues to exist for war and hunting in the past, in case nowadays as an important branch in the field of sports. The Turks, which was one of the Archer tribes, are perfected bow and arrow over time using special engineering techniques. The image of bow and arrow, which is the symbol of Sovereignty in Turks, has been used in canopies and coins. The best-documented period of Turkish archery is Ottoman archery. Archery in the Ottoman Empire not only considered as a martial art, but also it has been institutionalized in a systematic way from the beginning of the 15th century. Zihgir also, that is one of the supporting tools except bow and arrow that can be used to improve security and to ease its use, can be seen today among the important accessories as a jewelry decorated with precious stones. It is known that some archers accept it as auspicious and never take it off. Zihgir, that takes an important place in Turkish archery, is the shot ring is attached to the thumb of the right hand during shoot an arrow at in order to protect knuckles from his injuries. The archer ring, that has other names are zingir or şast in Ottoman Turkish, is known as küştüban in Arabic literatures, and engüştvane in Persian literature meaning thimble. In this paper, traces of Turkish archery are searched in publications about archery and in historical findings. Zihgir, that is the mandatory tool of short bow Turkish Archery reviewed a structural point and examined modeling with a workshop. It is given information about the use of zihgir and the technical specifications of it. Zihgir, which is an accessory at the same time, is explicated in terms of artistic value through examples in museums, collections, and in miniatures.

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